Nickelodeon Robot Wars
Nickelodeon Robot Wars was a spin-off of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, the US version of Robot Wars. It was first broadcast on Nickelodeon between August and September 2002 as part of their "Nickelodeon SLAM!" programming block, and was later rerun on Nick GaS (Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids). Filmed at the same time as [[Extreme Warriors: Season 2|the second season of Extreme Warriors]], the one-off series ran for six episodes, and featured competitor robots from both seasons of Extreme Warriors and Series 5 of the UK series, including loanerbots leant to some of the teams that had also competed in Extreme Warriors. As with the Minor Meltdown, the competitor robots were driven by children. Like Extreme Warriors, Nickelodeon Robot Wars was filmed in the main Robot Wars Arena in London, despite being for an American audience and featuring US series competitors. Presenters The show was presented by Dave Aizer, with Vivianne Collins of You're On! serving as pit reporter. Commentary was provided by Stefan Frank, who provided commentary for both seasons of Extreme Warriors. Format Nickelodeon Robot Wars followed a similar concept to Robot Wars Extreme and [[Extreme Warriors: Season 1|the first season of Extreme Warriors]]. Eight competitions were held in total, consisting of three major competitions which each had an episode dedicated to them, three minor competitions which were aired together across the remaining three episodes and two one-off battles. A significant difference was that whilst the regular US (and indeed the UK) series of Robot Wars had between five to seven fights in a usual episode, the time constraints brought by the programme's timeslot meant that the Nickelodeon version could only have four battles per episode. Episode Guide Changes and Censorship To appeal to younger viewers, a few changes specific to the Nickelodeon series were made during production. Although the arena remained the same as in the regular UK and US versions, all of the fire hazards, such as the Flame Pit and side fire jets, were disabled and replaced with CO2 jets. However, clips showing the Flame Pit spouting fire in UK Series 4 and US Season 2 were still used in the House Robot introductions throughout this series, especially in Sir Killalot/Sir K's introduction, alongside a clip from US Season 1 used for battleboards. The Drop Zone was changed as well, with the objects used being less serious ones such as assortments of balls and old scrap metal. Some of the House Robots were altered as well. Like the other fire hazards, the flamethrower of Sergeant Bash was disabled, making his pincers his only weapon; however, the Nickelodeon series would occasionally use clips of him with his flamethrower still enabled. Sir Killalot was also renamed "Sir K" - a name by which he was commonly referred to in video games and the original UK Robot Wars Magazine - potentially as a result of his original name being considered unsuitable for younger audiences. Instead of statistics boards, some video clips from both UK and US versions of the show were used when the House Robots were introduced. Major Competitions US Championship The US Championship formed the first episode of the series, and was a straightforward knockout tournament between robots fighting to become the Nickelodeon US Champion. Due to time restrictions, this championship was significantly smaller than any other Robot Wars national championship, with only four robots competing. The format of the Nickelodeon US Championship was similar to the Grand Finals of the original UK series, consisting of two one-on-one 'Eliminators', a playoff (known as the Bonus Battle) and a Grand Final. Robots Competing: Ninjitsu, Phantasm, Probophobia, Tyranabot. Eliminators *Tyranabot vs Ninjitsu: Tyranabot won *Phantasm vs Probophobia: Probophobia won Bonus Battle *Ninjitsu vs Phantasm: Ninjitsu won Final *Tyranabot vs Probophobia: Tyranabot won International Tag Team Terror As its name suggests, this tournament combined elements of the Tag Team Terror and War of Independence competitions found in other versions of the show. Eight robots - four American and four British - were paired into teams to battle each other in two-on-two battles. Only one robot from each team was allowed in the arena at a time and the teams could switch robots by 'tagging' them. Similar to the UK Series 4 Tag Team Terror, the International Tag Team Terror featured two first-round 'Qualifiers', a playoff and a final between the 'Qualifier' winners. Teams Competing: *'USA': The Revolutionist & Spin Doctor, Zanzara & Run Away *'UK': Ming 3 & Rick, Bigger Brother & Kat 3 Qualifiers *US - The Revolutionist & Spin Doctor vs Zanzara & Run Away: The Revolutionist & Spin Doctor won *UK - Ming 3 & Rick vs Bigger Brother & Kat 3: Ming 3 & Rick won Playoff *Zanzara vs Bigger Brother: Bigger Brother won :Run Away and Kat 3 were unable to take part due to technical issues. Final *The Revolutionist & Spin Doctor vs Ming 3 & Rick: Ming 3 & Rick won Annihilator The Nickelodeon Annihilator was held to a similar format to those found in other versions of the show, but with five robots rather than six, allowing for only four rounds. The rules for the Annihilator remained the same as in other versions; five robots began the competition, with one being eliminated from each round until only one robot was left standing. Robots Competing: Basenji, Bunny Attack, Hannibal, Techno Trousers, The Piecemaker *Fifth: Techno Trousers *Fourth: Basenji *Third: The Piecemaker *Runner-up: Bunny Attack *Winner: Hannibal Minor Competitions Mayhem As with their ''Extreme'' 1 namesake, Mayhem battles were a series of three-way melees aired in separate episodes, where one robot from each would emerge victorious. Winners of each Nickelodeon Mayhem would qualify for an 'Ultimate Mayhem', shown as the main event of Episode 5, where one robot would be declared the Mayhem Champion. Robots Competing: Diskotek, Joker, Propeller-Head, Rigby, Rosie the Riveter 2, Techno Trousers, The Revolutionist, Vert-I-Go, Xylon Mayhems *Propeller-Head vs Rosie the Riveter 2 vs Xylon: Propeller-Head won *Joker vs Techno Trousers vs Vert-I-Go: Vert-I-Go won *Diskotek vs Rigby vs The Revolutionist: The Revolutionist won Ultimate Mayhem *Propeller-Head vs Vert-I-Go vs The Revolutionist: Propeller-Head won Vengeance A series of one-on-one battles between robots which had a grudge to settle or issued an open challenge to prospective opponents. Robots Competing: Bunny Attack, Hoot, Joker, Probophobia, Spin Doctor, Xylon Battles *Bunny Attack vs Hoot: Bunny Attack won *Probophobia vs Spin Doctor: Probophobia won *Xylon vs Joker: Xylon won Challenge Belt A winner-stays-on competition, where Tyranabot was given a special "belt" to defend against opponents which attempted to take it. Any robot could fight Tyranabot for the belt, and whoever won would keep it. In order to win the belt outright, three challenges had to be won by the belt holder. *'Original Holder': Tyranabot *'Challengers (in order of challenge)': Tut Tut, Rosie the Riveter 2, Probophobia Challenges *Tyranabot vs Tut Tut: Tut Tut won *Tut Tut vs Rosie the Riveter 2: Tut Tut won *Tut Tut vs Probophobia: Tut Tut won Single Battle Events Battle of the Spinners In this one-off battle, two robots fought each other to decide which had the better spinning weapon. *Ninjitsu vs Destructive Criticism Winner: Ninjitsu House Robot Rebellion In this one-off battle, two robots were given the chance to take on Dead Metal, Shunt and Sir K (Sir Killalot). Squirmin Vermin & Humdrum vs Dead Metal, Shunt & Sir K Winners: Dead Metal, Shunt & Sir K Category:Nickelodeon Robot Wars